Anyone who has studied the history of the English Civil War of the mid-17th century will have heard of the Levellers. These radicals, whose ideas about the world were shaped by their version of democratic Christianity, are famous in England. Richard Overton was just one of the many people who were associated with this movement.
Overton himself found fame as a writer of tracts and pamphlets, which were produced in great numbers in the feverish political atmosphere of the late 1640s. The period around the English Civil War, which spread to Scotland and Ireland during the 1640s, was a controversial and stormy period in Britain, which saw the execution of King Charles I, in 1649, and the rise to power of Oliver Cromwell. In this febrile atmosphere, the Levellers became well-known in 1648 and 1649.
Although by 1650 the Levellers were, to all intents and purposes, finished as meaningful political force, their fame still persists today, especially among political groups with left-wing persuasions. Many would describe the Levellers as one of the world's first political parties, as they wore sea-green ribbons to show their loyalties, and campaigned using pamphlets and petitions. Overton was prominent in the movement as the writer of many of these pamphlets.
The term 'Leveller' probably dates back to the early 17th century, when rebels who 'levelled' hedges in protest against enclosures were abused with the word. By the 1640s, it had come to be used to refer to members of a New Model Army group who were said to favor the killing of Charles I. As well as Richard Overton, prominent Levellers included John Liliburne and William Walwyn.
The Levellers' political program made a series of demands which, at the time, were seen as very radical indeed. They do not necessarily seem so, though, when examined with modern eyes. They wanted almost all adult males to be entrusted with the vote, for Parliament to be elected every two years, for the process of elections to be reformed, and for an end to the punishment of imprisonment for debt. Importantly in the 17th century, they also wanted religious freedom, which was a burning issue for much of the century.
There were different strains of opinion within the Levellers about the exact nature of their demands, but, in general, they agreed with Overton's argument that liberty was right for every person. Some felt that the natural liberties of the English had been oppressed since the Norman Conquest. Others took their inspiration from the words of the Bible.
The forces of the government, with Oliver Cromwell to the fore, did not tolerate the Levellers for long. A mutiny amongst some New Model Army units was brutally crushed, with some ringleaders shot, while political leaders like Walwyn and Lilburne were put in prison. Many of the Levellers' demands would later come into law, in England and across the world.
The eventual fate of Richard Overton is obscure, though he is mentioned in some documents again over the next two decades after the Levellers' demise. He spent some time in prison, and abroad. He is also believed to have been a spy for Cromwell, and later Charles II.
Overton himself found fame as a writer of tracts and pamphlets, which were produced in great numbers in the feverish political atmosphere of the late 1640s. The period around the English Civil War, which spread to Scotland and Ireland during the 1640s, was a controversial and stormy period in Britain, which saw the execution of King Charles I, in 1649, and the rise to power of Oliver Cromwell. In this febrile atmosphere, the Levellers became well-known in 1648 and 1649.
Although by 1650 the Levellers were, to all intents and purposes, finished as meaningful political force, their fame still persists today, especially among political groups with left-wing persuasions. Many would describe the Levellers as one of the world's first political parties, as they wore sea-green ribbons to show their loyalties, and campaigned using pamphlets and petitions. Overton was prominent in the movement as the writer of many of these pamphlets.
The term 'Leveller' probably dates back to the early 17th century, when rebels who 'levelled' hedges in protest against enclosures were abused with the word. By the 1640s, it had come to be used to refer to members of a New Model Army group who were said to favor the killing of Charles I. As well as Richard Overton, prominent Levellers included John Liliburne and William Walwyn.
The Levellers' political program made a series of demands which, at the time, were seen as very radical indeed. They do not necessarily seem so, though, when examined with modern eyes. They wanted almost all adult males to be entrusted with the vote, for Parliament to be elected every two years, for the process of elections to be reformed, and for an end to the punishment of imprisonment for debt. Importantly in the 17th century, they also wanted religious freedom, which was a burning issue for much of the century.
There were different strains of opinion within the Levellers about the exact nature of their demands, but, in general, they agreed with Overton's argument that liberty was right for every person. Some felt that the natural liberties of the English had been oppressed since the Norman Conquest. Others took their inspiration from the words of the Bible.
The forces of the government, with Oliver Cromwell to the fore, did not tolerate the Levellers for long. A mutiny amongst some New Model Army units was brutally crushed, with some ringleaders shot, while political leaders like Walwyn and Lilburne were put in prison. Many of the Levellers' demands would later come into law, in England and across the world.
The eventual fate of Richard Overton is obscure, though he is mentioned in some documents again over the next two decades after the Levellers' demise. He spent some time in prison, and abroad. He is also believed to have been a spy for Cromwell, and later Charles II.
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